Chilean Scientists Push Antimicrobial Peptide and Probiotic Solutions for Fish Farming and Pets

Researcher Paula Santana of Universidad Autónoma de Chile reported progress on antimicrobial peptides as an alternative to conventional antibiotics for controlling bacterial diseases in salmon aquaculture. She highlighted how climate‑driven changes such as warmer sea temperatures and reduced oxygen increase disease risk and production costs, making antibiotic resistance a critical issue.

In a separate project, Sandra Quilodrán of the Universidad de Concepción’s Faculty of Veterinary Sciences received 5 million Chilean pesos to develop a probiotic treatment for multi‑resistant wound infections in dogs and cats. The work builds on a decade of collaboration with researchers from Chile and Argentina and aims to replace antibiotics with a targeted probiotic that can eliminate resistant bacteria in animal wounds.